It all started a long time ago, a very long time ago, in fact, during World War I. There were human Trench Rats. They were gone in World War II, but taking their place was a battalion of lesser Trench Rats. Lesser, yet not lacking in courage or loyalty. These Trench Rats went from concentration camp to concentration camp, letting captives go, and stealing documents. They were led by Sergeant Black Rat, who was very well an able leader because of his experience and intelligence. The corporal was Gold Rat, and several of the lance corporals were Red Rat, Blue Rat, and others.
Once Gold and Black were stealing one of these documents, and while speeding away on Gold's motorcycle, Inspector Dobermann, their archenemy, shot Black through one of the ears. Gold wasn't watching where he was going, and when he hit a bump, the sidecar flew off. It hit a pile of lumber and exploded. Red Rat was called and Red and Gold were certain that Black Rat had been killed in the explosion. But just before they left with the bad news, they heard stirring. Black struggled to pull himself free. His other ear had been torn to shreds, and he was bruised, bleeding, and cut all over. He couldn't free his left leg, which was wedged under a heavy board. The board was moved, but when Black tried to walk, he yelped and fell to the ground. His leg was crippled, and the rats [sic] knew he'd never be able to walk on it again.
Once, Black was trying to steal a document from Inspector Dobermann alone. Dobermann caught him and put him in a jar, then left the room. Black saw only one way of escape. It was to knock the jar over so it hit the floor. This he did. The jar shattered and Black limped blindly away, a shard of glass protruding from his right eye. [Note--the numerous injuries Black undergoes were a very big factor in the first version (I loved pretending the "woodpile crash" scene), and I believe they also occurred in the intermediate version, but their importance was toned down. In the current version, Black doesn't seem to have suffered any of these injuries, though they might still come along at some point.] At that minute Gold sped in. Black climbed into the sidecar and they managed to speed off past the four guard dogs before Inspector Dobermann could catch them. Black was put in a recovery room because of his ears, eye, and leg, and that's where and when the rest of this story takes place.
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